Obamacare's signup deadline on Monday has its exceptions

(Reuters) - For most Americans who don't have health insurance, Monday is the deadline to sign up for coverage starting on January 1 under President Barack Obama's healthcare law.

For others, it's not a deadline.

There is a "hardship" exception for some that permits them not to sign up any kind of health insurance at all without facing a penalty - the hardship being problems they've encountered with Obamacare and its malfunctioning website HealthCare.gov.

There will also be a "good faith exception" for others, according to a senior Obama administration official.

"We'll have a special enrollment period," the official said last week, for "all those who make a good faith effort to get enrolled by the deadline" but fail to do so.

The official did not say how the government would determine whether or not the effort was made in good faith.

Still others may simply get a break from insurance companies, which the administration has urged to be flexible with people who miss the deadline.

Such is the uncertain state of "Obamacare" as it approaches what was originally supposed to be a defining moment - a signup deadline that would provide the first real test of the viability of the healthcare program brought into law by the Affordable Care Act.

Adding to the confusion is the fact that the original deadline for obtaining medical coverage was December 15. That was extended to December 23 after the federal government's website, HealthCare.gov, proved dysfunctional and sometimes non-functional.

The administration has reserved the right to change the deadline again "should exceptional circumstances pose barriers to consumers" enrolling on or before Monday.

Obama said on Friday that one million people had enrolled for new insurance plans under the law through HealthCare.gov, which serves 36 states, and 14 state-run marketplaces.

Many more enrollments are a major priority for Obama's signature healthcare reform, which officials are still hoping will help millions of uninsured and under-insured Americans finally to obtain medical coverage by the end of March.

GAPS IN COVERAGE?

It is not known how many consumers may have no insurance coverage during periods of 2014 because they failed to sign up on HealthCare.gov by Monday.

Some of the 14 states running their own healthcare exchanges have extended their sign-up deadlines past December 23.

On Thursday, the administration announced that if people's old insurance plans were canceled because of new standards under the law, they can claim a "hardship" exemption to the requirement that all Americans must have coverage by March 31 or face penalties that start at $95.

So some of these people may not sign up.

The Obama administration says it is trying to be flexible, but some Republican critics of the law say the frequent delays and changes have muddied the waters and confused people."With no clarity as to when people should sign up and who they should pay and when, it's a virtual certainty that many consumers will find themselves uncovered for a period of time through no fault of their own," Senator Orrin Hatch, a Utah Republican, said last week.

Administration officials said on Friday there are fewer than 500,000 people who have received cancellation notices from their insurance companies and have not yet found alternatives. Some were "auto-enrolled" in other plans by their insurance companies, the officials said.

The pace of sign-ups has picked up since October and November when technical problems crippled the HealthCare.gov website. Anyone who tried the website in October and November and became stuck has been getting attention from the administration.

Officials sent more than two million emails to people who could not advance through the website. They have also made more than 600,000 phone calls to consumers and mailed notices to hundreds of thousands of people, officials said.

"We are confident that we are doing everything we can so that individuals know what their options are to get coverage, whether it is at the marketplace or seeking it through the private insurers," said the senior official.

This is not affordable health care...this is forced compliance. Period. Go ahead - impose a fine on me because I refuse to allow you to "dictate" to me what I can and can not do to initiate my own health coverage. This "law" was unconstitutional the second that jughead started shoving it down everyones' throats. Way to go, Democrats, for deciding for us all what is best for the country. How comforting to know that "Big Brother Obama" cares so much. (Do you see four fingers, or five? I've got a cage full of hungry rats that says you see whatever they TELL you to see.)

I beleive the affordable care act is nothing but obama flexing his muscles because most people don't want it. in this situation obama is being the bully and bull headed. I'm a democrate and now switching parties. obama has went to far.

What exactly is the penalties for not having coverage? I thought it was one fee at the end of the tax year but someone told me you would get a fee/penalty every month you don't have coverage. I make less then 10,000 a year and no companies near me are hiring full time anymore. I make "too much" to get government help but I don't make enough to afford health insurance each month AND still have money for a place to live and/or food.

How are you supposed to get coverage or pay any premiums when you are not working and have no income? Then one is charged a fine for not getting coverage. If one cannot afford the premiums what makes you think he or she can pay any fines?

I'm a 62 year old with a 12 year old daughter and I lost my job on November 15th (high overhead & costs, they said, but I also heard it was due to the new healthcare laws [Obamacare]), and since then I've applied to about 90 jobs, so it's not like I'm not trying. I had managed to save Dec & Jan rent and after that, I'm on God's good grace. So, I have NO INCOME, and they are going to punish me for not buying healthcare??? Fine me??? Yes, it has become a police state, and the biggest lie of all is that this government cares a whit for Americans. They've cut Veterans' care, food cards for people who can't feed their kids without them, and a myriad of other social services. I've been lucky my entire life to not have had to rely on my government for anything except national security to keep our country safe, and now, when I'm down at such an advanced age, I get punished for something there is no way I can afford. Anyone who agrees with me should get off of their disagreeable rear ends and vote Republican in 2016. At least, throughout any Republican administration that I can remember, I ALWAYS had a job. Now, there are so many people out of work, every job I apply to has at least 200-300 applicants vying for the same job. What a sorry state this nation is in. I'm so sorry that our first Black American President is such a loser. I would have voted for Herman Cain in a New York second if he had won the nomination. Too bad. We are being flushed down the toilet and when this country is subsequently made up of the 16 richest billionaires and 350 poor (and I do mean poor) and completely corporate-owned, then we'll finally get what we deserve for ever voting for this Constitution-destroying, Bill of Rights-destroying maniac. He wants to be a dictator, he longs for the powers of a dictator, he is acting like a dictator, and he is running our country like a regime. Did I ever think in my entire life that I would be living SCARED to be an American??????? What a sad commentary for what used to be a great country.